Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Prime Minister of Thailand at the podium at Government House in Bangkok.

–

BANGKOK – It’s been almost 3 years since Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, launched his Military coup on Thailand, vowing to rid the Kingdom of corruption and according to a recent survey by Transparency International, Thailand’s bribery rate is now only a mere 41percent, just one point higher than Cambodia and Myanmar.

In your opinion, over the past year, has the level of corruption in this country increased or decreased or stayed the same? This was among questions asked to nearly 22,000 people by Transparency International in the Asia Pacific region, for the ‘People and Corruption: Asia Pacific, part of the Global Corruption Barometer series

The bribery rate for Thailand was 41 per cent compared to rate for Cambodia and Myanmar 40 per cent. Vietnam’s rate is 65 per cent, while rates for Indonesia and Malaysia are 32 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. The bribery rate for China is 26 per cent The Nation Reported.

The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the survey is that walking the talk is failing; governments in Asia talking big on stopping corruption are under-performing.

“Many governments in Asia Pacific fail to stop corruption; 900 million people are paying bribes,” states Transparency International.

Approximately 900 million – or just over one in four – people living in 16 countries in Asia Pacific, including some of its biggest economies are estimated to have paid a bribe to access public services, according to a new public opinion poll from the anti-corruption movement Transparency International.

“The results show lawmakers across the region need to do much more to support whistleblowers; governments must keep promises to combat corruption, including their commitments to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“In China, nearly three-quarters of the people surveyed said corruption has increased over the last three years, suggesting people do not see the major offensive on corruption is working.’

Only one in five people surveyed thought the level of corruption had decreased, while half of people polled said their government was doing a bad job fighting corruption. A third had seen no change in the level of corruption

“Governments must do more to deliver on their anti-corruption commitments. It’s time to stop talking and act. Millions of people are forced to pay bribes for public services and it is the poor who are most vulnerable,” said José Ugaz, chair of Transparency International.

Thirty-eight per cent of the poorest people surveyed said they paid a bribe, the highest proportion of any income group.

“Without proper law enforcement corruption thrives. Bribery is not a small crime, it takes food off the table, it prevents education, it impedes proper healthcare and ultimately it can kill,” Ugaz said.

Police top the list of public services most often demanding a bribe; just under a third of people who had come into contact with a police officer in the last 12 months saying they paid a bribe.

People said that the most important action to stop corruption is speaking out or refusing to pay bribes. But more than one in five said they felt powerless to help fight corruption.

This report comes at a key moment when many governments in the region are preparing their agendas to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs set out development priorities for 2030, which include, among others, reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms.